English Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas between 1647 and 1660 because he believed such celebrations were immoral for the holiest day of the year.
26
Santa Claus has many different names around the world including Father Christmas in the UK, Pere Noel in France, Kriss Kringle in Germany, La Befana in Italy, Julinesse in Denmark, Dedushka Moroz (meaning Grandfather Frost) in Russia and the Three Kings i
22
The Queen's Christmas speech was first televised in 1957.
18
The sun sets on 24 December at 3.55pm in the UK, and rises the following morning at 8.05am.
81
The world's tallest Xmas tree at 221ft high was erected in a Washington shopping mall in 1950.
82
Coca Cola was the first beverage company to use Santa for a winter promotion.
251
There are 13 Santas in Iceland, each leaving a gift for children. They come down from the mountain one by one, starting on December 12 and have names like Spoon Licker, Door Sniffer and Meat Hook.
191
The abbreviation Xmas isn't irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.
273